Malaysia's preparations for Budget 2027 come as productivity, competitiveness and business growth remain high on the agenda. At the same time, Malaysian businesses are placing greater focus on technology and opportunities to reach new markets.
According to the Adyen Index 2026, 47% of Malaysian retailers plan to integrate AI-driven or agentic commerce solutions to increase revenue, while 41% plan to expand into new international markets in 2026. However, growth also brings greater operational complexity. As businesses add more channels, markets, technologies and payment methods, more systems need to work together behind the scenes. The question is whether their infrastructure can keep pace.
As businesses expand, so does complexity
Expanding across more channels, stores and markets can make both customer and operational journeys increasingly complex. Moving into international markets adds another layer, as businesses need to manage different currencies, payment preferences, customer expectations and market requirements.
As transaction volumes increase and operational requirements become more demanding, systems that were sufficient at an earlier stage can begin to constrain further expansion. Disconnected systems can also make it more difficult to maintain visibility across the business and provide a consistent customer experience across different markets and channels.
Growth should not mean businesses have to continuously add new layers of complexity. Instead, the infrastructure supporting the business should make it possible to add markets and channels while keeping operations connected, rather than requiring a separate setup for each one. This is where technology becomes increasingly important.
Digitalisation as a driver of growth
For businesses looking to sustain their growth, technology adoption is becoming increasingly difficult to put off. Technology now plays a central role in how retailers attract customers, create new ways to sell and improve the overall customer experience.
AI, for example, is beginning to reshape how customers discover products and decide what to buy. Shoppers can describe what they are looking for to AI tools, which can then compare products and recommend options based on factors such as price, features and availability. While customers still make the final purchase decision, AI is increasingly influencing what they consider before directing them to a retailer to complete the purchase. This effectively introduces another shopping channel into the customer journey, alongside a retailer's website, app and physical stores.
As this channel becomes more important, businesses need to ensure their existing technology infrastructure is robust enough to support it. AI-driven shopping depends on accurate and up-to-date information, from product details and pricing to availability. When a customer reaches the point of purchase, the transaction must still connect with the systems supporting the retailer's operations, including inventory, customer data and payments.
The focus, therefore, should be on ensuring that new channels can work seamlessly with the infrastructure already in place. Businesses can begin by reviewing how their existing systems connect and identifying gaps that could create friction across the customer journey, particularly around transactions that need to work reliably across different channels and markets.
Payments are part of the growth equation
Payments are often viewed as a backend function, but they sit directly at the point where customer interest turns into a transaction.
The Adyen Index 2026 found that 97% of Malaysian retailers experienced payment performance issues over the past 12 months. A failed payment can result in a lost sale while also creating additional support and refund work for the business.
For companies operating across multiple markets and channels, managing payment performance can become more challenging as customer preferences and payment methods vary. Visibility into where transactions are failing, which payment methods customers prefer and where customers encounter friction can help businesses identify areas that need improvement.
This can include examining how often payments are successfully authorised, identifying where fraud checks may be creating unnecessary friction, and determining whether failed transactions can be recovered through retries. By treating payments as part of the wider customer journey, businesses can reduce failed transactions and protect more sales.
Turning growth ambitions into business outcomes
For Malaysian businesses, the opportunity ahead is not simply about adopting the next technology or entering another market. It is about developing the capacity needed to turn those opportunities into sustainable growth.
This is where the priorities of Budget 2027 connect with the challenges businesses are already facing. Greater productivity and competitiveness will require businesses to find ways to grow without introducing unnecessary complexity into their operations. Technology, together with the infrastructure supporting it, will play an important role in making that possible.
Ultimately, Malaysia's next phase of business growth will depend on whether the infrastructure behind businesses can keep pace with their ambitions.
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| By Soon Yean Lee, Country Manager, Malaysia, Adyen |
